ABSTRACT
The coastal megacity of Mumbai is home to the Kolis, an indigenous artisanal fishing community who trace their roots in the area back at least four centuries before the arrival of the Portuguese. The Kolis, the original inhabitants of the city, are settled across the city’s coastal spaces in small urban fishing villages or hamlets, called Koliwadas, each with a distinct architectural style and cultural heritage. These communities are experiencing multiple threats, including climate change and dwindling fisheries, which are forcing them to seek alternative livelihood opportunities, as well as pressure from urban developers eager to grab hold of prime land. They also face a range of ecological threats including plastic pollution, which is clogging up the city’s creeks and causing ecosystem deterioration and fish deaths. As part of a project called TAPESTRY, the organisation Bombay61, along with academics and activists, forged a hybrid alliance with the Koli community in the Versova Koliwada. The process focused on co-producing locally appropriate adaptations and place-making activities that emphasised Indigenising design for bottom-up transformation, building on Indigenous knowledge of urban aquatic biodiversity and methods familiar to the communities. An important element of co-production and engagement was the interaction between the Koli fisherfolk, urban planners, researchers, and city authorities. The aim was to foster a bottom-up and deliberative urban planning approach that could potentially transform how urban planning is framed and practised in Mumbai. This means giving more voice and visibility to the marginalised fishing communities in shaping the city’s future through more inclusive and socially just planning practices.
